Luthor
by greenkid
Summary: Clark Luthor has always been told by his father that he is a god among men and he has a destiny to fulfill, but he faces some road blocks as fellow classmate Jimmy Olsen catches wind that Clark is hiding something. Jimmy recruits his friend Chloe Sullivan to investigate, but she has her own matters to deal with. Meanwhile, Lois Lane tries to uncover the mystery of Green Arrow.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** The title is just a working title. It's named after the season ten episode _Luthor_. This story idea just came to me. Rather than just focusing on the life of Clark Luthor/Ultraman, I've also focused on other characters. Future storyline may be subject to change.

**LUTHOR**

****_Chapter One_

"Clark Luthor."

Jimmy Olsen had been spacing out for the past few minutes. He had had a major case of senioritis starting at the beginning of this past semester, but as the last month of high school approached, he was growing worse and worse. He found himself often staring out the window in class or even bringing in his favorite newspaper, the Daily Planet, to read. His mind had been so far from this classroom, Physics, and Metropolis High School in general that he wouldn't be able to repeat anything the teacher had said in the past fifteen minutes. He had been sketching the large spinning planet on the top of the Daily Planet building in his Physics notebook. The name "Clark Luthor," however, immediately grounded him.

Jimmy instantly looked up from his drawing to see his teacher standing near the doorway next to a tall boy. The boy's dark hair was bushy. He wore a dark leather jacket over a dark shirt. Jimmy thought his getup came straight out of a biker movie. He stood in the doorway, staring at the class in front of him, a sullen look on his face. He didn't speak one word. And while Jimmy had never spoken one word to the boy, he knew who he was. Hell, everyone sitting in this classroom knew who the guy was.

Clark Luthor was the son of millionaire and CEO of LuthorCorp Lionel Luthor. He was the younger brother of womanizing Lex Luthor and businesswoman Lutessa Luthor. His name had been plastered all over newspapers and magazines across Metropolis. The question was, what was he doing standing in this classroom?

"Well, class, this is Clark. He'll be finishing the semester here at Metropolis High. He'll be with us for the next few weeks, so please, let's try to be on our best behavior and offer a good learning environment for him."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. _As if you care that much when he's not around. But seriously, what the hell is this kid doing here?_

Clark looked past everyone's surprised gazes as he walked to the very back of the room and sat at the seat to the right of Jimmy. He didn't say a word for the remainder of the class period. While everyone else took notes, he sat there, staring blankly at the front of the room. Meanwhile, Jimmy had been spacing out, but this time for different reasons. He had started racking his brain, wondering why someone like Clark Luthor would be at Metropolis High School. It had to be for a good reason. Lionel Luthor had been known for being a ruthless, cold-hearted shark and his children hadn't seemed to fall far from the tree. He had heard so many bad things about the Luthor family that he could probably fill his notebook with them. He recalled hearing from a fellow Daily Planet intern several years ago that Lionel Luthor had practically forced many farmers into selling their land for his factory in Smallville, Kansas.

After the bell rang, everyone seemed to take one last look at Clark before packing up their stuff and leaving. No doubt they were about to head out into the hallways and discuss him with their peers. Jimmy, however, took his time packing up. He looked over at Clark, who sat quietly. He had no backpack, no books, and no writing utensils. As Jimmy got up, he could hear a faint noise that he soon recognized as loud rock and roll music coming from near Clark. He realized that Clark had been listening to it in an earbud in his right ear this whole time.

"So… no books? No backpack? Nothing?"

Clark looked over at Jimmy and didn't say anything at first. He got up from his seat. "I didn't have much time to get ready for school today. If it'll make you happier, I'll probably have a backpack _and_ books tomorrow."

He rolled his eyes and moved toward the door. Jimmy followed close behind. "So… Ice Nine Kills?"

Clark looked at him with annoyance. "Yes."

"You know, I love a variety of music. I've got everything from classical to alternative. Let me tell you, my dad's a hardcore country music fan and he _hates_ when I blast that stuff."

"Hmmm," Clark managed. The two had entered the hallway by now. Jimmy should have been heading to his locker and preparing for his next class, but he found this to be more interesting. "My dad hates it too."

"So… what's your favorite song by them?"

"I'm sorry. Who are you again?" Clark stopped in the middle of the hall. A lot of eyes had been glancing in his direction.

"My name's Jimm - er, James Olsen. I'm a senior."

"Right, right," said Clark. "Look, James, as you can see, I just transferred here and I'm only going to be here for about a month. I'm really not looking to make any friends, so if you could please back off before I make you…"

Jimmy didn't respond and Clark started to walk away again. "No. I'm not giving up."

He started to jog after him. "Look, Clark, CL, can I call you CL?"

Clark laughed. "The way you're going, you might as well just start calling me 'Mr. Luthor' or 'Sir' right now."

"CL, I guess I just wanted to know why you're here. I mean, I've heard you go to some fancy prep school with people like Oliver Queen."

Clark laughed. "Oliver Queen is a worthless bigot."

"Well, it is a little strange to be transferring to Metropolis High School of all places the very last month of your senior year."

"And it is a little annoying for you to play reporter and follow me around this school when you don't even know me." The two had now reached the other end of the high school. They were near the gymnasium and it had become clear to Jimmy now that Clark was going to PE. He didn't hesitate to follow him into the boy's locker room.

"I'm not trying to be annoying here. I'm just curious. I mean, you don't have to tell me. I know you said you didn't need any new friends, but this is just me trying to be friendly."

In the next moment, Jimmy was pushed up against one of the lockers behind him. Clark used incredible force. He felt his head bang hard against the lock and he yelled out in pain. "Do me a favor and stay away from me." Clark looked Jimmy dead in the eyes, a look of disgust and hatred on his face. A look of ruthlessness. A look of a Luthor.

In the next few seconds, he loosed his grip and simply smiled before walking away. Jimmy started rubbing the back of his head. He turned around to look at the locker and noticed a dent in it where his head must have hit it. "What the hell?" Thoughts started to race through his head and he realized that Clark Luthor might be more special than he once thought.

* * *

Chloe Sullivan liked to think that she had a high sense of morality. Besides the snooping around and digging into other people's personal stuff that is. The latest copy of The Torch was due out the following day. The school principal had expected her to be hard at work editing it, but the truth was she had been spending most of the time making out with her boyfriend. Her eyes had constantly been drifting to the computer in front of her and it seemed that he was finally starting to notice.

"I'm sorry. You really should be working on this. I'm distracting you and that's a problem. I should go."

"No, don't go," said Chloe. "You can stay. Let's just tone this down a bit, okay?"

Despite her need to finish the paper, Chloe knew she didn't want to be left alone. She never liked being left alone. Her whole life she had felt alone and she was finally glad to say that she wasn't. Her boyfriend had seemed to be everything she needed. The two had met at the beginning of their freshman year of high school and now four years later, they were getting serious.

She took a look around the Torch office, realizing that it would be only about a month before she had to say goodbye to it. The Torch had been a home, a safe haven for her the past few years and it was going to be hard to let go. But she was going on to bigger and better things. She would be attending Metropolis University in the fall and she was planning on starting a job at the Daily Planet. Meanwhile, her boyfriend had even bigger plans in mind. He planned to attend Harvard in the fall. In fact, he had originally planned to graduate early and go to Harvard, but was unable to receive a good enough scholarship and decided to stay for another few years for a better chance at getting scholarship money.

She was about to get back to work when she was startled by her phone ringing. The number was one she didn't recognize, but she answered anyway. "Hello?"

"Chloe! Hey!"

Chloe look confused. "Who is this?"

On the other end, Jimmy seemed disappointed that Chloe had not bothered to save his phone number or couldn't even recognize his voice over the phone. "Jimmy. Jimmy Olsen."

Chloe's eyes widened and she suddenly felt awkward. She glanced over at her boyfriend as all the memories of the summer of 2002 with Jimmy flooded back through her mind. "Jimmy… what do you want?"

"Actually, I need your help, Chloe. You see, Clark Luthor has just transferred to Metropolis High School and it seems kinda fishy to me."

"Clark Luthor? Lionel Luthor's son? This is what you're calling me about?"

"Yeah. Well I'm trying to dig up some dirt on him and I figured, who better to call? I have to tell you Chloe, something strange is happening here. The kid's been going to the same prep school for years and all the sudden he shows up here for his last month of high school?"

"Look, Jimmy, it's been nice talking to you and it was nice getting to know you, but we agreed to go our separate ways and frankly, this is just a waste of time. I really have to go."

Before he could say anything else, she hung up. Chloe's boyfriend look puzzled. "Who was that?"

"Just an old friend. An intern I met at the Daily Planet a few years back. He wanted me to dig up some dirt on Clark Luthor, but I don't have time for that."

He seemed to cringe at the mention of the name "Luthor." It was hard for anyone in Smallville to not when they heard it.

"You know what?" she said. "You should probably go home. It's getting late and I can finish this fast on my own. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Suit yourself," he said. He smiled before getting up and leaving the office.

As he left, Chloe returned back to her work. She had decided to start an article about the graduating class and some of their fondest memories, but in truth, she didn't know if there really was much. At least for her. Perhaps she was the wrong person to be writing this article. She had spent the past for years of high school chasing down strange happenings and as she called them "meteor freaks." It was no secret - to her at least - that people of Smallville who came into contact with any of the meteor rock from the 1989 meteor shower had high chances of developing superhuman abilities. Over the past few years, record high murder rates in Smallville had begun to occur and Chloe had no doubt in her mind that this was the leading cause. She tried the best she could to track them down and try to help, but she wasn't exactly on her A game. She was aware that several of he classmates were dangerous meteor freaks. She knew the identities of very few, but there still seemed to be so many more out there. Her fascination with the strange happenings of Smallville had developed into an obsession and soon the Wall of Weird came about. Her high school years had been devoted to this.

And yet, she found some sort of comfort in moving away from it all - from Smallville, from the meteor freaks, from her classmates. Her boyfriend had been a big factor in this. It was nice to actually feel normal for once. She knew - at least she assumed - that when she moved to Metropolis, things would be a little more normal as well. She felt some sort of relief knowing that her days at Smallville High School were numbered.

And yet, her boyfriend, Ian Randall, didn't feel very much relief at all. He had wanted to leave Smallville two years ago and graduate early. He had taken high school and community college classes at the same time, but the scholarship he wanted, the Luthor scholarship, still wasn't given to him. He was forced to stay in Smallville until he could get enough money to cover the Harvard tuition. While racking up scholarships like crazy his past semester, he was still going to need a little more. Besides, his grades were starting to falter a little too. He was in danger of losing his 4.0 GPA because of a C in his PE class. The same thing had happened his sophomore year in Shop class, but he had taken some measures to take care of it. His Shop teacher had been mysteriously found murdered a few days before final grades were due.

He took a look back at The Torch office as he made his way down the hall. He had known Chloe for nearly four years now. The two had been somewhat of friends, as they were both intellectuals, but didn't get to talking really until their sophomore year. He had originally just wanted to use Chloe to get a good article written about him in the school newspaper, but it was not long after that he started to develop true feelings for her. The girl was obviously planning on going somewhere in life. While her fixation on the strange was a little annoying, he gave her credit for actually trying to piece things together instead of just ignoring them like the rest of the town did. And yet he found it funny that of all people, she ended up with him. How ironic was it? He had been harboring the secret from her for years. And even while they were in a relationship, he still felt that he had to protect who he really was.

He made his way down the hall and finally reached the Physical Education offices. He knocked on the door of one of them and in no time, a short, plump man stood before him. "Hello Mr. Arnold."

"Randall," the man grunted. "What do you want?"

"I was hoping I could talk to you about my grade."

Mr. Arnold sighed. "Alright, alright. Step inside."

Ian stepped inside Coach Arnold's office to see that it was actually quite big and lavish. The man had been coaching football at Smallville High School for a long time and was likely given it because of that. He knew for a fact that there was even a sauna somewhere nearby.

"Look, I'd tell you you're wasting your time coming here, but that wouldn't be very teacher-like of me. Then again, it's true. Randall, we've got a few weeks left of the semester. You come to me now to talk about your grade? I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you."

Ian just stared. "I'll give you a warning. If you don't change my grade to an A, you'll be sorry."

Arnold laughed. "What is this? Some kind of a joke? Are you threatening me?"

Ian stood up. "As a matter of fact, I am. The semester's over in a few weeks, Mr. Arnold and I expect my grade to be changed to an A by then. I've worked too hard to get a C."

"Hard?" Arnold scoffed. "Are you kidding me? The way you play in gym class?"

"I didn't want to have to do this, Mr. Arnold, but you leave me with no choice." Ian smiled his slightly sadistic smile. He stood up and pulled a large wrench out of his jacket pocket. Arnold look started to see it. Ian was about to swing it and bash the man directly over the head, but Arnold did something at the last minute. He created a flame that caught onto Ian's short. In a panic, the boy quickly dropped the wrench and started patting his shirt against the desk in an attempt to get it dry. "What the…?"

"Yes, old Coach Arnold here's got some tricks up his sleeve. Did you really think you'd be able to change your grade just like that, Randall? You made a mistake by coming here and trying to do that." He edged closer to Ian, creating a flame on the floor.

"You're… a meteor freak."

"Is that what you kids are calling it? Well, I guess you would say so." He edged closer to Ian and the flame followed him, growing as he backed further and further away. It would soon engulf in and he would catch on fire. He could already feel his shoes smoldering in the heat. "Well, it really was a shame that I had to do this, but it's really all for the best."

In the next instant, another boy flung the door open and sprinted into the room. Before Arnold could even grasp what was going on, a knife had been plunged into his back. He screamed out in pain before collapsing to the floor. Ian waited a few seconds before getting closer to Arnold. "He's dead, thank God. Blood had started oozing out from his back and it would have to be cleaned up soon enough.

"What took you so long?"

The figure standing before him looked exactly identical to him. As a matter of fact, they were the same person. The other Ian sighed. "I was looking into more scholarships."

"Speaking of scholarships, some guy called and wanted Chloe to dig up some dirt on the youngest Luthor kid."

"Clark?"

"Yep. I have no idea why. But if she can, it might help us get that scholarship once and for all."

"I hear they're already considering some other applicants."

"But we've applied so many times!"

"I know. So maybe we should start taking matters into our own hands."

Ian nodded. He turned around and went to a supply closet down the hall to grab a bunch of rags and garbage bags. While one Ian cleaned up the pool of blood, the other started bagging Arnold. "Why didn't we do this with Frankel?"

"Frankel wasn't such a mess to clean up."

Not before long, the two had managed to clean everything up. They had picked up the now covered Coach Arnold and began to carry him out to the nearest entrance. They would then place him in the trunk of their car before burying him in the woods and converging back together before returning home for dinner. As they made their way down the hall, Chloe Sullivan sat at her computer desk with a blank document open on her screen. She opened a new tab and began to do some searching when she heard footsteps in the hallway outside. She got up from her desk to check what it was, but quickly sat back down, brushing it off. She turned back to her computer. An image of Clark Luthor was displayed on her screen.

* * *

Lois Lane had never liked to dress up. She cursed under her breath as she made her way down the sidewalks of Metropolis. Her feet were killing her from the long heels she wore and on top of that, she was almost sure she bombed the interview at Queen Industries she had just come from. As much as she would love to just party at Metropolis University all the time, she was definitely in need of some cash. And as much as she didn't want to be a receptionist for Queen Industries, it was something.

She peered over at the LuthorCorp building, which wasn't too far away from where she stood. No doubt Lionel Luthor was probably sitting in his office at the very top floor right now. She wondered how someone like him had started and how he managed to make it so far in life. She then looked at the Daily Planet building, which was practically across from LuthorCorp, and she thought about her cousin, Chloe, whose dream job was to become a star reporter there. She then thought about herself and how she didn't know what she was doing with her life. How she was nineteen years old and still had no clue. How was it that someone like Chloe or even Lionel Luthor knew exactly what they were going to do with their life while Lois had no idea?

She continued down the streets of Metropolis, cursing herself again for not bringing an extra pair of shoes to walk back to her dorm in after the job interview. The skies darkened as she made her way downtown. As she crossed a long, dark alley, a man suddenly appeared before her. He was very large and bulky, and looked at Lois with a grin on his face. "Hi there."

"Hey there, buddy," she said as she attempted to walk by, but he stopped her.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Actually, yes, I am. Why don't you go to the nearest convenience store and pick up some mints, buddy, 'cause your breath is seriously stinking up this whole street."

The man glared at her. "Just give me all your money."

"I don't think so," she said.

"Well, I think so." Lois sighed and then proceeded to attempt to punch the man in the face, but he stopped her before she could do so. He had a tight grip on her wrist and she began to yell out in pain. He took her purse and then started to sprint away."

"Hey! Get back here! Someone help! He just stole my purse!"

The bare streets of Metropolis didn't seem to really do much. Lois sighed. "Great."

However, the next moment surprised her. The man, who was now far off in the distance, suddenly collapsed. "What the?" She took off her heels and began running on her bare feet, finally catching up to the man who was now crouched on the sidewalk in pain. An arrow had pierced his arm. She quickly looked around to see who had shot it. Her eyes finally set on a hooded man in green leather standing on a balcony across the road. He wore sunglasses and she couldn't quite make out his face. In the next moment, he jumped down to the ground below, landing on his feet. He walked slowly over to Lois.

"You really shouldn't be walking through here alone at this time at night," he told her. He turned to the man crouched on the ground. "And you really shouldn't be mugging people." He got down and picked up Lois' purse to hand it to her.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"A friend," he replied. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take something from you though." He quickly snatched the necklace she had been wearing before turning around and running off into the night.

"Hey! Where are you going with that?!" she yelled. "Great, a knight in shining leather comes to be rescue and then decides to steal from me too."

When she got home, she started to explain the whole thing to her roommate, who just looked at her like she was crazy. "Lois, please don't tell me you went drinking _before_ that job interview."

"I haven't been drinking at all!" Lois stammered. "I'm telling the truth."

Her roommate merely laughed. "Sure." It was then and there that Lois Lane decided that for now, she was going to devote her time to uncovering the mystery of the archer in green leather.

* * *

Lex Luthor sat in his home office, staring blankly at the computer screen in front of him. He was supposed to be working and yet, his mind had been so far from work. How did he, of all people, end up in this position? How had he become just another pawn in his father's game? He had vowed to do something different with his life. He seemed to be the black sheep of the family after all and he'd intended to get away from his father as soon as he got the chance. _This is Clark's game. Not mine._

"Hello? Anyone home?"

_Speak of the devil._

In no time, Clark had appeared before Lex. He wore a smirk on his face when encountering his brother. "Hey Lex."

"Hi Clark. How was your first day of school?"

"Uneventful, as always."

"Maybe things wouldn't be so uneventful for you if you didn't get kicked out of Excelsior."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lex. You've been to that school and you know it's full of stuck up rich snobs who define themselves by how much money their parents' have. On the other hand, Metropolis High is full a bunch of low class trash."

"Sounds like a lose-lose situation," said Lex. He looked up from his computer for a second to get a good look at Clark. He had often wondered why Lionel had favored him so much more over Lex. After all, Clark _was_ adopted. He wasn't even blood related. Was it because he hadn't gone bald when he was nine years old? Or was it because he had no trouble making friends as a child at school? Was it because he always appeared calm and collected?

"Where's Tess?"

Lex raised his eyebrow. "You and Tess seem to be spending an awfully large amount of time together recently. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two are up to something."

"Come on, Lex. Can't a brother and a sister spend time together?"

"Yes, they can. But apparently two brother's can't."

Clark rolled his eyes once more. It had been years since the two actually enjoyed spending time together. He remembered they would play together as children and for a short period of time, Clark had really been Lex's only true friend. Sadly to say, Clark had several friends over the years, but never managed to keep them. "What do you call this right now?"

"I call this 'Clark bugs Lex while he's trying to work,'" said Lex. Clark stared at Lex for the next moment without saying a word. "Okay, fine. If you must know, Tess is on some business trip. Don't ask me what about. Something in Smallville."

_Smallville_. The name immediately made him clench his fist. Smallville held a lot of meaning for him. It had been where his spaceship had crashed down to Earth during the meteor shower in 1989. It had been where Lionel Luthor found him. _Why would Tess be in Smallville?_

With that, Clark got up and left the room. "Where are you going?" Lex called.

"I'm going to pay a visit to Dad while he's at work."

Once leaving the penthouse apartment, Clark super sped over to LuthorCorp, where he traveled up the very top floor. Sure enough, Lionel Luthor sat behind a large desk next to a large window overlooking downtown Metropolis. "Clark, my son! What a surprise!"

"Lex told me that Tess is in Smallville. What would she be doing there?"

"Relax, Clark. She's just going over to visit an applicant for a Luthor scholarship."

"Funny that of all places, they'd be from Smallville."

"You really must know that I'm telling the truth."

"You said that when I was old enough, we'd go back. That we'd try to piece together everything."

"And that time will come soon, my son, but for now let's focus on the present. Did you make any new friends at your new school."

Clark scoffed. "No, of course not. Like I said, I'm not interested in making any friends."

Lionel looked at him gravely. "Seems to me that's a good philosophy to adopt. In fact, don't get close to anyone. We don't want what happened at Excelsior to happen again."

"I don't know how many times I've apologized for that."

"Clark, you beat another student to death and then branded him with your Kryptonian symbol. Where did you even see that?"

"It was on my spaceship," he said. "And if you must know, I had good reasoning to do it."

"I'm sure, but there's still no excuse to be doing this on school property."

Clark rolled his eyes at Lionel. "Well, we got away with it, didn't we?! No one knows so far! For all everyone else knows, it was some deranged serial killer! Lex still believes I got kicked out of school for my grades."

"That's enough!" Lionel stammered. "Do you even know how much work I put into covering that up?"

"Well it's work wasted," said Clark. He approached Lionel now. "Why do I have to keep hiding? I'm sick of pretending to be like everyone else. You keep telling me that I'm a god among men, but I haven't been able to do anything yet."

"Your time will come soon, my son."

"Well I'm growing impatient!" he growled as he approached Lionel. The man quickly took a small piece of Kryptonite from his pocket and Clark immediately started to back away.

"Well you're just going to have to wait a little longer," he said as he quickly moved closer to Clark. The boy eventually collapsed onto the floor and Lionel placed the meteor rock under Clark's shirt onto his bare chest. "I'm going to have to leave you here for the next few minutes to think things over."

With that, he left the room, leaving Clark laying there helpless as the pain of the Kryptonite on his bare chest engulfed him.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Thanks for the reviews! I surprisingly started writing the next part really fast. I will definitely take your requests into consideration, C.S. Tolkien. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. I'm hinting at it being an AU. It may not follow the direct storyline Earth 2 did in Smallville. As for anon, I'm not quite sure what to make of your review. I've seen the same exact one posted in another story and I agree with you. It does make sense. I have a tendency to write from an often villainous perspective because I feel like they shouldn't just be one sided. There should be more to their story. And I often find that they have the most room for development and some of the most interesting backgrounds. In addition, sometimes they're just not quite as bad as we think they might be. I somewhat agree with you concerning Lex and other villains._  
_

_Chapter Two_

The rush and crazy noise of downtown Metropolis became apparent to Jimmy Olsen. He had been standing at the same spot for about half an hour; in front of a banking building across from a large apartment building that he knew belonged to LuthorCorp. In fact, he knew for a fact that the Luthors lived on the very top floor - in the penthouse of this building. He had left school early, only skipping out on study hall, to get here. After studying Clark Luthor for the past two weeks, he wasn't able to get much more out of him. The two sat next to each other in Physics class, but they never talked and Clark had made it clear he wasn't interested.

Jimmy had started to study Clark everywhere - the lunchroom, the library, and entrance to Metropolis High. He had recently started to follow him out of school, but always lost track of him for some reason. He had no idea how the guy got home. It was like he disappeared into thin air. Today was the day that he finally planned to catch Clark on his way home. He checked his watch and saw that school had just ended about five minutes ago. When he looked up, stunned, he saw Clark walking out of an alley near the Luthor building. Jimmy's jaw nearly dropped.

"How did he get here so fast? Did he leave school early or something?"

Jimmy waited for Clark to enter the building to sprint across the street. There, he waited for another few minutes before entering the building himself. He was terrified when he saw Clark standing across the room near a large elevator. The man at the front desk eyed Jimmy before he quickly stepped away down a hallway near the entrance. He could overhear Clark talking on his cell phone.

"Really, Dad?" he said. "I just got home."

There was muttering from Clark's father on the other end.

"Alright, fine, I'll head over there right now." Clark sighed before hanging up his phone and heading back out the door to the streets of Metropolis. Jimmy, relieved, step back out into the open. He walked over to the man at the front desk.

"Hi there. You see that kid, Clark Luthor?" The man slowly nodded in response. "Well, his father and I are planning a big surprise party for his birthday coming up soon. That's why his dad just called him to get him to leave. I'm supposed to go up to their penthouse and start setting some things up. If you have a spare key, I'd really appreciate it. Mr. Luthor told me to come ask."

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" said the man. "Get out." He then returned to his computer.

Jimmy sighed and then began to walk away. He made his way back to the front door and took a last look. When he was sure the man had reverted his attention to the computer, Jimmy quickly moved to the end of the hall, where he found a fire alarm and pulled it. He heard the man at the front swear loudly and quickly get off his feet to check on things. Jimmy moved back to the front of the building to see the man had gone. He sprinted over to the desk and hurriedly searched for keys. After much searching, he finally found the key to the Luthor penthouse. He quickly moved over to the elevator and made his way up to the top floor.

Jimmy was happy to see that the key worked. He slowly and stealthily moved into the apartment. After walking around a bit, he came to the conclusion that no one was home. He made his way over to Clark's room, which seemed to be twice the size of Jimmy's own apartment. The walls were painted a deep blood red. In no time, Jimmy had been fidgeting around, looking for something, anything. He found several boxes of cash underneath Clark's bed as well as a few Playboys. In addition, he found a sketch pad with some sort of symbol on it. It was a heptagon with some sort of U shape in side of it. He thought it appeared kind of odd, but brushed it aside. He was disappointed that he couldn't find much else.

He placed everything back where it had been and quickly moved into the closest room next to Clark's. It soon became obvious that this must have belonged to Lionel Luthor. A large portrait of him hung up on a wall adjacent to the door. Like with Clark's room, he started digging under Lionel's bed and found several tins. Inside one, he found several pieces of meteor rock. It didn't take him long to recognize it as the famous green meteor rock from the Smallville meteor shower. In another, he found what looked like a ring with a large red jewel on it.

"What the hell is Lionel Luthor doing with meteor rock under his bed?" He then moved over to a laptop, which sat on a desk across from the bed. The screensaver had been on. Jimmy moved the mouse and a large image instantly appeared before him on the screen. Jimmy stood back and gasped a little when he saw it. It was an image of a boy about his age who appeared to be beaten to a pulp. Here were bruises and cuts all over his face and a bunch of dried blood over his face. But the most prominent part of this image was a symbol that had appeared to be burned on the boy's chest. It was the same symbol that Clark had sketched in his notepad under his bed. Jimmy slowly backed away, trying to piece everything together. He didn't have much more time and it was probably best for him to leave.

But he heard a sudden movement coming from the hall. _Crap. Don't tell me Clark's back already_.

He slowly moved out to the hall, but was surprised to see a hooded figure at the other end. He appeared to be wearing some sort of green leather suit. "Who are you?"

"Funny. I was just about to ask you the same question." The man's voice was deep and Jimmy could immediately tell that he was wearing something to disguise his voice.

"Oh God. Is this a robbery?"

"No, it's not. I just needed to come and pay a little visit to the Luthor home to check up on things."

"You're here snooping around?" Jimmy asked, giving a disapproving look.

"And you aren't? What are you doing here all by yourself while the Luthors are away?"

"Well I was just - er - I was… Alright, you got me. I was snooping around. But I have very good reason too. There's something not right about Clark Luthor and I'm going to figure out what's going on. I'm interviewing with the Daily Planet soon and a story like this could be a breakthrough."

"Calm down, kid," the man said.

"Then again, I've got my own story right here."

"As far as you know, you never saw me. If you want to get out of here alive, you'll do as I say."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. You think this getup intimidates me?" In response, the man pulled an arrow out and aimed it at Jimmy, who quickly put his hands up. "Alright, alright, you got me."

"Now I advise you to leave right now."

"No," said Jimmy. "I was hoping I could stick around and help you with… whatever it is you're doing."

The man sighed. "Fine, but you still have to forget you ever saw me. Where's Lionel's computer?"

Jimmy showed the man to Lionel's room and led him over to the Macbook computer sitting on his desk. The hooded man sat down at the computer and placed a flash drive from his pocket into an open slot. He quickly opened a program, which started to copy the contents of the computer onto the flash drive.

"You planned ahead. You're taking all of Lionel's files."

"For good reasoning. I don't want you to get the idea that I'm some sort of bad guy."

"Well you are technically stealing."

"You are technically breaking and entering."

"Fine. Can you at least tell me why?"

"Let's just say that the Luthor's don't exactly have the cleanest slate. They've definitely got some blood on their hands and since no one else is going to do anything about it, I've taken it into my hands to see that justice is served."

"So what are you? Some sort of superhero?" Jimmy asked.

The man looked at him for a second. "I guess you could say I'm something like that."

"Well do you have a name?"

"Not really," said the man. "Just think of me as a friend."

Jimmy shook his head. "That is so lame. A guy as cool as you has got to have a super cool name. Something badass. Looks like you're into green leather. How about the green archer?"

"Maybe I'll think about it later. You got a name, kid?"

"Jimmy Olsen," he said a little too quickly. He then realized that it probably wasn't the best idea to give this guy his name.

"Aspiring reporter Jimmy Olsen," said the man.

"Yes," he said. "And if you need any help digging up dirt on the Luthors, you can come to me. I'll be more than willing to help."

In the next moment, the sound of the front door opening could be heard. Jimmy was about to swear when the man covered his mouth. Someone had returned to the penthouse and they were going to have to leave as soon as possible, but the hooded man couldn't leave without the flash drive fully complete. There was no way he was making another trip to the Luthor home unless he absolutely needed to. It was going to be hard enough to get into Lionel's office at LuthorCorp.

"Hello?"

The masked man instantly recognized the voice as Lex Luthor's. Lex placed a briefcase down on the kitchen counter as he entered the apartment. He peered around for a moment before concluding that there was probably no one home. Clark was due to be home from school by now, but who knows where he would be?

In a way, he was relieved. He'd always tensed up when he had to be around Clark. Even the sheer presence of his younger brother annoyed him these days and he just wanted to be alone. He took a look around the apartment. This place had been his home for the majority of his life. After his mother had died and Clark was adopted, the family had moved to a different apartment in an effort to get a fresh start, as Lionel often put it. As he looked around, he was completely aware that no pictures of his mother hung on these walls. In fact, he was sure that his father had gotten rid of any left. Lex owned a scrapbook full of pictures that he kept inside his office, but other than that, it was as if she had never existed.

Really, she was but a small part of their life now. So much time had passed since her death. And she was really only the biological mother of Lex. He looked over to a large portrait of the family hung up in the main entranceway. Lionel stood the tallest, as always, while the children sat beneath him. Each wore a smirk on their face. Tess sat in the middle with Lex on one side of her and Clark on the other. _That sounds about right_, Lex thought.

He had still questioned what made Clark so special. He had looked at the boy and just asked himself how Lionel had been able to mold him into what he wanted while Lex still appeared to be a straggler. Clark's agenda had always seemed more important to his. Lex found this ridiculous, as Clark was a seventeen year old boy and Lex was a twenty four year old man placed in charge of a large section of LuthorCorp. Tess was obviously favored less than Clark as well, but that was different. It appeared that much less was expected of her and she obviously didn't have as much stress put on her shoulders.

Of course, certain things about Clark had always been strange. How did he have such defined and toned muscle when he rarely ever worked out? Why did he never appear to be afraid of anything? Why had he never fallen ill when they were younger? How come he never once sought to find his true parents? These were all questions that Lex had been harboring for years, but never got good answers when he asked them.

While Lex pondered his brother's mysterious ways, Jimmy and the hooded man sat in his father's bedroom, studying the computer screen closely and listening for any movement. It appeared that Lex remained at the front of the apartment. "Move over," Jimmy whispered. The man appeared hesitant, but moved over for Jimmy. The boy plopped himself in front of the computer and searched around for an application on the computer. He soon found one called "Contacts." Soon enough, a list of contacts appeared. "Clark Cell," "Lex Cell," "Tess Cell," "Home," "LuthorCorp Office," LexCorp Office," "Lex Home Office."

Jimmy grinned and pressed "Lex Home Office." A phone number appeared before him and Jimmy dialed it on his cell phone. Sure enough, a phone started ringing from somewhere in the penthouse. Lex obviously heard this and started moving toward his office. As this happened, the files had finally finished copying and the man took the flash drive out. Jimmy cocked his head to the bedroom door and the two stealthily made their way out.

Lex finally reached his office and picked up the phone. "Hello?" No one answered. He repeated himself several times before returning to the entrance of the penthouse, but Jimmy and the hooded man had just managed to leave. The two made their way over to the elevator and Jimmy hit the button for the ground floor.

"Thanks for your help today, Jimmy, but I'm going to have to leave you."

"What?" Jimmy looked confused. The man hit the emergency stop button on the elevator and then proceeded to open up a slot at the top. He started to climb on top.

"What are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself."

"Trust me, Jimmy. You don't need to worry about me hurting myself. Hey, maybe I'll see you around." With that, he closed the hatch on the top of the elevator.

Jimmy hesitated a moment before pressing the brake button again, causing the elevator to start moving again. In no time, he had reached the ground floor. He pulled his hood over his head as he exited the building, trying to avoid eye contact of anyone else there. The man at the front had obviously fixed the fire alarm problem by now. After he left the building, he took one last look at the Luthor building. He hadn't really accomplished as much as he thought he would, but he now definitely had a lot more on his mind. In the confrontation with the hooded man, he nearly forgot about the strange image of the boy that he found on Lionel's computer.

While Jimmy was still determined to find out what was going on with Clark Luthor, he definitely had more to think about. The image of the hooded man couldn't get out of his mind as he walked down the streets of Metropolis. It was like something straight out of the pages of a comic book. There was definitely something mysterious about the guy, but Jimmy couldn't help but trust him. And as someone who loved reading superhero comics as a kid, he couldn't help but be astounded by it. "Maybe he is what Metropolis needs."

As Jimmy made his way down the busy street, Oliver Queen could be seen exiting the same building Jimmy had just come from. He wore business attire and appeared to be coming from some sort of business meeting, yet he knew full and well that that was not the case. He picked up his shirt to look down at the green leather underneath. _The Green Archer, eh?_ He thought it over for a moment. _No. Maybe something else._ He thought about it again. _I got it. Green Arrow._

* * *

"Hello son," said Lionel as he saw his youngest son enter his office.

"What is it now?" Clark asked.

"It appears that someone posted a very interesting photo on the internet."

"What are you talking about?"

Clark moved closer to Lionel and took a look at his computer screen. An image of the boy he had beaten to death and branded with his Kryptonian symbol. "Who did this?"

'I have no idea," said Lionel. "Luckily, I had it taken down before it could spread too far. If it pops up again, I'll just have to be on the lookout. Let this be a reminder to you that you need to be more careful."

Clark rolled his eyes. "You're the one telling me to embrace my heritage. You've had me kill many people before. What's wrong with having a little fun while I'm at it?"

"Because it's not the time," Lionel reassured him. "You must understand that there is a time for everything. Don't you see? You aren't at that stage yet. The world is not ready for you to step out yet. I'm not ready for you to step out yet. If they start seeing your Kryptonian symbol everywhere, someone will find out. I assure you that soon enough, you will be one of the most powerful men in the world, Clark. You will rule this place by my side. But trust me when I say that I have a plan."

Clark sighed. "Alright, fine. But I hope that my time comes soon enough. I'm going to be eighteen next week."

"Yes, that's true," said Lionel. "I only feel that it's fair enough that you accompany me on a trip to Smallville this weekend."

"Really?"

"Of course," said Lionel. "Think of it as a reward for your good behavior."

Clark smirked. "More like managing not to kill anyone these past few weeks. I gotta tell you, it has been hard."

"Let's hope it stays that way for just a little longer. At least until you graduate."

Clark nodded. "Speaking of Smallville, I've had a question for you that I've been meaning to ask for some time."

"Go ahead, son."

"Why the name Clark?"

Lionel merely laughed at this question. "After all these years? Well, if you really want to know, I had just met a couple in Smallville right before I found you. A farmer and his wife. They were trying to have a child of their own, but were having some trouble. They so desperately wanted a child that it seemed that's all they could really talk about. Naturally, when I went to visit them to try to purchase their property, they refused, but as I was there, the farmer's wife had been bouncing off baby names with her husband. She told him that she had always wanted to name her son Clark. And I guess the name stuck. A special name for a special boy."

Clark studied him for a moment. "At the time, had you been wanting another child?"

Lionel laughed again. "Of course not. I had my hands full with your brother and your sister. If you're suggesting I didn't really want you, Clark, you are sadly mistaken. I knew the moment I found you that you were what the Luthor family needed. I like to think of it as fate. You were destined to be a very powerful man, Clark, and you were found by a very powerful man himself. You were found by a Luthor and you were raised as a Luthor."

Clark nodded. He couldn't help but wonder how different he would be if he'd been found by anyone else. But he soon brushed it off. He knew in his heart that he was a destined Luthor and he always would be, no matter what. He said goodbye to Lionel and walked away, back down to the streets of Metropolis where he would walk confidently with his head up high, proud of who he was.

* * *

Oliver Queen had just started to settle in. He had owned this large apartment overlooking Metropolis for several years now, but it had been vacant until now. After graduating from Excelsior, he had migrated to Star City for several years to oversee headquarters there before moving back to Metropolis. And even after all the years of being gone, Metropolis still felt like home. He had after all, grown up here. While so much had changed in the past few years, it seemed a little unfamiliar to him. Yet as he looked over to the LuthorCorp building off in the distance, he smiled to himself. _Some things never change._

He thought about he and Lex being forced together during their parents' meetings when they were kids. They would play with Jason Teague and Patricia Swann, and yet the group of four had always harbored some sort of dislike for each other. It had definitely been destined to happen. He didn't think their parents had much of a likeness for each other either. He and Lex developed sort of a rivalry in school and when Clark came into the picture, matters got even worse.

Oliver walked over to his computer and sat down. Over his past few weeks in Metropolis, he had been collecting data. He had been researching strange deaths or murders in recent years. Specifically of anyone loosely related to the Luthors. What he found was astonishing. Many investors in LuthorCorp had been killed. What was more shocking was a string of killings that couldn't be very easily connected, yet somehow Oliver had done it. In the past year, a group of eight different people had been murdered. What made this group so special? After doing some research, he discovered that all of these people, at one point in time, lived in the same apartment building in Suicide Slums. Not only was that odd, but Lionel Luthor had lived in the same building at the same time.

Oliver knew that the Luthors definitely had some blood on their hands. There was no way they couldn't. But no one was brave enough to touch them. He decided it was time for him to do so. The Luthors had reigned this city for far too long and he wasn't about to let them continue getting away with it.

He took a flash drive out of his pocket and placed it into a slot on the side of his laptop. Lionel Luthor's files started to copy onto his computer. It would probably take him hours to sift through everything, but something caught his eye right away. It was an image of a boy that appeared to be beaten to death. An odd, almost alien, symbol had ben burned onto his chest. "What the hell?"

In the next moment, Oliver's doorbell rang and he nearly jumped. He quickly shut his laptop and made his way over to the front door. He hesitantly opened it and was definitely surprised to see a certain woman standing there.

"Hello," she said, quickly extending her hand. "Name's Lois Lane and I've been needing to talk to you."

Oliver slowly nodded his head. "Alright. What can I do for you, Miss Lane?"

There was definitely no mistaking it. The woman in front of him had been the same woman he'd rescued from a mugger, and then stole from, a few weeks ago. He still had her locket in a drawer somewhere in his apartment. He was planning on pawning it and donating the money to charity.

"Well, I believe we had an encounter a few weeks ago."

Oliver's eyes immediately widened. _Does she really know?_ "I don't know what you're talking about. At least I don't remember. If you could refresh my memory…"

"I had an interview at your company a few weeks ago, Mr. Queen, and I believe I saw you leaving just as I was walking in."

Oliver nodded his head. "You know what, you're right. Maybe I do remember you."

"Anyway," she said, "I was trying to get a position as a receptionist for your company. After leaving probably the worst job interview in my life, I started thinking about how relieved I was that I didn't get the job. Do you know how miserable I'd be if I had to sit around all day answering phones?"

"I don't really see where you're going with this."

"But then I realized that this was probably the best thing I'd get," she said. "I mean, I'd hate it, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be good at it. People always tell me I have a lot of personality, which is a good thing, right? Anyway, I decided I really needed this job. So I was going to bake you some cookies or muffins or something and show up at your office, but number one, I suck at baking, and number two, you weren't at work. So I just decided to show up here."

"Well, Miss Lane," said Oliver.

"Call me Lois," she said.

"Well, Lois, I'm really flattered that you stopped by. How about I set up another interview for you tomorrow afternoon?"

Lois looked excited. "Are you kidding me? That'd be fantastic. Thank you so much, Mr. Queen!"

"Hey, call me Oliver," he said.

"Alright, Ollie," she said. It was then and there that he knew if she got that receptionist position, there would be no escaping that nickname. And yet, there was some sort of sparkle, a fire, in her eyes that he couldn't help but like. There was just something about Lois Lane.

"Before I go, I know this sounds crazy and I know you're going to look at me like I'm an idiot, but have you seen an archer around Metropolis lately?"

Oliver smiled.

"Crap, I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Great, Lois, you just lost your job interview."

Oliver shook his head. "As a matter of fact, I think I have. Does he wear green leather?"

Lois suddenly got excited. "Yes! Finally! Someone doesn't think I'm crazy!"

"I saw hims bout a week ago on the top of a building. I was leaving work to come home. Thought he looked kinda funny."

"Yes," she said. "The guy got me my purse back from a mugger, but he stole my necklace. I almost wish he would've just taken my purse. That locket belonged to my mom and it's one of the only things I have left from her." Oliver suddenly looked at her with sympathy and even empathy. "Oh no, I wasn't asking for any sympathy from you. I wasn't self pitying. I was just saying."

"No, no," he said. "Lois, I get it. If anything, I get it. My parents were killed in a plane crash when I was really young. As you can see, there's a lot I have left from them, but even something as simple as that, would kill me."

Lois nodded. "Well, glad you understand. Let's just hope this doesn't affect my job interview."

Oliver shook his head. "No way, Lois. Though I'm sure you'll do fine. You seem perfect for the job."

"Alright, Ollie, well I guess I'll see you later. I have an exam to cram for."

"See you around, Lois," he said as she left through the front door. After he knew she was gone, Oliver walked over to his bedroom and opened the bottom drawer of his dresser. Underneath a pile of pants, he found a silver locket with the name "Ella" inscribed on it. "Ella Lane," he said. He placed it in his pocket

That night, when Lois returned from studying at Met University's library, a small package waited for her outside her dorm room. She quickly opened it to find her mother's locket and a note scribbled on a torn piece of paper.

_Sorry I took this from you. If it makes you feel any better, I was going to pawn it and donate it to charity. But now I can see that maybe it means more to you than that. I just don't want you thinking I'm a bad guy._

_Green Arrow_

Lois smiled a bit when she saw this. She still wasn't sure she trusted this archer guy, but at least she had her necklace back. And now she had a name to start piecing things together.

* * *

Lutessa Luthor was sitting at home when Clark had returned. Lex had been sitting in his office and hadn't even bothered to come out and greet her when she got home. She smiled when Clark came in. "Hi Clark."

"Hello Tess," he said. He didn't exactly say this with a grin on his face, but he smirked slightly in her direction.

"Dad tells me you're headed to Smallville this weekend."

"That's true," he said.

"Are you excited?"

"A little," he said. He didn't want to tell Tess that he'd been waiting forever for this. "I don't know exactly what he's got planned, but I hope it's good."

"He's meeting with a scholarship applicant from Smallville HIgh School," said Tess. "A girl I met with a few weeks ago. You know what's funny? Her parents were killed in the same meteor shower that you came down in."

This phased Clark only a little. "Is that right? Interesting."

"Maybe Dad feels guilty and just wants to give her some money," said Tess. "Or maybe she is qualified. She is captain of the cheerleading squad and she does have pretty good grades. I'd say she deserves it."

"Hmm," Clark managed. He didn't very much feel like talking about this scholarship applicant. His mind was elsewhere.

"Hey Clark, do you mind? The coffeemaker must be broken. This is ice cold." She pointed at the mug of coffee in her hand. Clark sighed. He wasn't exactly sure if Tess had been telling the truth, but it didn't matter. He focused his eyes on it and it immediately started to heat up. "Thank you."

The two sat there together for an hour or so before Lionel walked in. He greeted them and proceeded to his bedroom. "Clark! Lex! Lutessa!"

The three siblings made their way over to Lionel's bedroom as fast as they could. They recognized their father's tone of voice almost immediately. "Have any of you been snooping in my room?" All three of them shook their heads. They knew that their father's room was strictly off limits.

"Well someone has been on my computer." He cocked his head to the computer, which was displaying the phone number of Lex's home office. He instantly started staring Lex down.

"Just because that's on there, it doesn't mean it was me. Maybe it was Clark. Did you ever think about that for once."

"It wasn't me, Lex," said Clark angrily. "I went to visit Dad at LuthorCorp before I came home and I've been sitting with Tess in the kitchen the whole time."

"Funny. Now that I think about it, I got a call in my office a few hours ago and when I answered, there was no one on the other end." Lionel looked frustrated. He made his way over to the phone and called down at the front desk.

After a few minutes of talking, he turned back to them. "I asked him for security footage, but he said the cameras were somehow offline for about half an hour. He didn't catch anyone walking into our apartment. He said something about a boy coming in and saying he was planning some sort of surprise birthday party for you, Clark."

Clark shook his head. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

"Well, someone's been screwing with us. And I guarantee you I will find out who that someone is." Lionel took a look back at his computer, remembering what was on it before he had left and cursed himself for not locking it down before he'd left for work.

It was then that Clark knew what Lionel had been afraid of. His fists clenched together a little as the thought of someone breaking into their home crossed his mind. He was going to have to take it upon himself to seek revenge.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Her light blonde hair had been as shiny as ever as she sat in the afternoon sun. Her piercing blue eyes had been focused on football field. A laptop sat beside her and it appeared that she was taking nots for some type of story. Her soft hands suddenly moved gently across the bleachers and her lips… her luscious, pink lips… were starting to suck face with someone else.

"Hey, watcha doing?"

Pete Ross immediately jumped. "Oh God!" he yelled. "You scared the crap out of me. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Lana Lang merely laughed her light laugh that Pete knew all too well. He simply smiled back and laughed a little himself. It wasn't like when he cracked a joke with his buddies or joked around with his family at the dinner table. Lana was different. Her laugh was airy and light and he could tell that there was still a little bit of pain there. It was no secret that Lana's parents had been killed by the 1989 meteor shower when she was about two. Over the years, she had faced her fair share of hardships.

"You were looking at Chloe again, weren't you?" Lana looked back up across the Smallville High football field where Chloe Sullivan and Ian Randall had just been kissing a moment ago. She had now returned back to her work on her laptop as Ian snapped a few pictures.

"I told you, Pete, you really missed your chance with that one."

"Hold up a minute," Pete argued. "Let's get one thing straight. I do _not_ have a thing for Chloe Sullivan."

"You so do," said Lana. "You've had a crush on her since the eighth grade when she moved here. And instead of going up to her and just asking her out like I told you to four years ago, you blew it."

"That was four years ago," he told her. "Things are different now. I don't like Chloe anymore. She's with… Ian. I mean, I think the guy's a total creep and I have no idea what she sees in him, but I guess that isn't my place to judge."

Lana rolled her eyes. "Maybe one day she'll realize what she saw in him was never there and she'll start seeing something in you. But for now, they seem happy. Maybe you should start looking for someone else. You're headed to Kansas State in the fall. You're bound to meet someone there."

"I really wouldn't be talking," said Pete. "Especially considering how your love life's going."

Lana didn't respond to this right away. A look of sadness passed over her face and Pete knew he had immediately made a mistake. Lana's old boyfriend, Whitney, had been a senior when they were freshmen. He joined the army at the very end of his senior year and was killed in action in the spring of the following year. Since then, she had dated around. Most of her boyfriends had been some of Pete's fellow teammates on the football team, but they never really lasted too long. Pete wasn't going to deny that Whitney could be a real jerk, but the two seemed to really like each other.

"Lana, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said. "I'm just overreacting. But hey, maybe you and Chloe still have a chance yet. Maybe if you stopped hanging out around me so much, she'd like you a little more."

"She doesn't hate you, Lana," said Pete. "She just has this dislike for cheerleading."

"And I'm a cheerleader. I guess that means she dislikes me. Pete, it's okay. It's not like it's a big secret or anything. Look, chin up. Things will get better. I'm gonna go hit the books before I have to go back to class. See you around."

Pete nodded. "See you, Lana."

He took one last look at Chloe Sullivan, who was laughing at something Ian had said. She returned to her laptop and started typing again when Ian noticed that Pete had been staring at them. He gave him a dirty look before turning back to Chloe and conversing.

"Land of the weird, home of the strange," she said. "You got that right."

"So any word on the search?"

Chloe shook her head. "Nothing yet. But they're bound to find something soon. As much as I hate Coach Arnold, I hope they find him soon."

"Well, the guy was kind of a bastard," Ian remarked. "I wouldn't feel _too _bad if they found him in the ground somewhere."

Chloe looked at Ian, puzzled for a second. "Ian, I probably dislike him as much as you do, but come on, what if it were me missing?"

"It's not," he said quickly. "It's this little thing called karma."

"Whatever you say," she said, brushing it off. She looked back down at her laptop screen. A collage of pictures from the senior class had been displayed in front of her. It was going to run in the Torch the following day. In addition, the yearbook was going to be out in the next few days and it would be displayed in there. She shut it before getting up and heading down the bleachers. Ian followed closely behind.

"Okay, okay," he said. "Fine. I guess I feel a little bad. Are you happy now?"

Chloe didn't say anything right away. "Ian, don't feel bad. It's just your opinion." She opened up her bag while stepping out onto the grass and started placing her laptop in her bag. Meanwhile, Lana was walking in their direction. She had been checking her email on her cell phone when the two collided. Chloe's laptop immediately fell to the ground with Lana's phone.

"I'm so sorry!" she said right away before she even realized who she'd ran into. Chloe immediately reached down for her laptop, making sure it was okay before she glared at Lana.

"What do you think you're doing?" she said. "You should watch where you're going."

Ian rolled his eyes. Had it been any other person, Chloe probably wouldn't have reacted that way, but Chloe had always seemed to have a hatred for anything Lana Lang. He'd tried to reason with her about this, but there were some things about Chloe she just couldn't change.

"Fine," said Lana quickly. "I'm sorry." She picked up her cell phone and walked off.

"God," said Chloe. "Can you believe out of all people, _she's_ the one getting the Luthor scholarship?"

"What?"

"Shit," Chloe swore. "I wasn't supposed to mention that. I saw something about it in the main office when I was working on the Torch."

"No, no," said Ian. "It's quite alright."

"No, really Ian," she said. "You've been after that scholarship for years."

"No, it's cool," he said. "Totally cool. If anything, I'm glad you told me so I didn't have to wonder for myself. Aren't the Luthors supposed to meet with her or something?"

"Well, I found out that Lutessa Luthor met with her a few weeks back. Lionel is coming out today to meet with her here after school."

"Around what time?"

"I don't know. Six or seven? He said that's the only time he's available and he insisted on meeting at the high school for some reason."

Ian stared at her.

"Okay. Maybe I read a few of the school emails when I was going through the school system too." Ian just grinned. "Why do you want to know this anyway? Please don't tell me you're planning on coming and trying to talk to Lionel into choosing you. If he hasn't realized you're the right choice by now, he's not going to. Ian, you are going to go far in life and when you reach the top of the success ladder, Lionel Luthor is going to be kicking himself for choosing Lana Lang over you."

Ian simply nodded. "You know what, Chloe? You're right. Thanks for that."

She smiled. "Besides, there is no way you're skipping out on our date tonight." Ian didn't say anything. "Oh God, you didn't forget, did you? We're supposed to eat dinner at my place and then go see Star Wars."

"Oh God, Star Wars," he said. "I forgot you wanted to see _that_."

"Who doesn't like Star Wars?"

"Who actually likes the prequels Lucas is releasing? Thank God this is the last one."

"We'll see about that. I should go run this through to the Torch before class. Come over around five?" Ian nodded before the two proceeded to kiss each other goodbye. He smiled at her as she walked away. He soon caught Pete Ross staring at her off in the distance again and started to clench his fists. Ian didn't follow the football team very closely, but he knew Pete Ross was a tool and he had obviously had his eyes on Chloe for some time now. If he didn't stop it soon, Ian would have to do something about it.

He headed back into the school a few minutes later and made his way over to the his locker. When he got there, he found some spare clothes inside and shoved them into his backpack. When he shut his locker door, he saw Pete Ross standing outside the door of the Torch office.

"Hey, Pete."

Pete look startled to see Ian saying hi to him. "Hi, Ian."

"Did you need something?" he asked. "It looks like you're standing outside of the Torch office. If you didn't know, I work for the Torch. If you wanted something, you could always ask me."

"Actually," he said, "I was going to talk to Chloe about something."

Ian's fists started to clench again. "In case you didn't know, Pete, Chloe happens to be my girlfriend. If you know me at all, you know I'm not an idiot. I see you looking at her and I'd appreciate it if you stopped, or you're going to be sorry."

Pete didn't say anything back right away. "Kinda cocky to be throwing around threats like that."

"Kinda," he said, "but believe me, if you go anywhere near Chloe, your ass is mine, Ross. I suggest you leave right now." Pete paused before turning around and walking away. Ian grinned.

He made his way across the school and to the school locker room. Lunch period was not quite over yet and he still had time. He set his backpack down and quickly took his clothes off. In the next moment, he proceeded to divide himself into two. After a minute, his other half had fully emerged. Both started to put clothes on. Their clothing had been identical on purpose. Both wore a striped blue sweatshirt and jeans.

Pete Ross was still a little angry as he stood by his locker. He caught Ian Randall returning to his locker with his backpack down the hallway to his right and he glared. _What a dick._

He placed some books in his backpack before starting to head down the opposite direction when something else caught his eye. It was Ian… exiting the building on the otter end of the hall. "What the…?" He immediately turned around to see Ian shutting his locker and walking down the hall in the opposite direction. Pete then turned around to see Ian off in the distance leaving the school. He rubbed his eyes, curious if he had been seeing things or not. He shrugged it off before shutting his own locker and returning to class.

* * *

Clark Luthor had been staring at cornfield after cornfield for the past fifteen minutes. He had been to Smallville several times before, but mostly as a young child. He knew it was a small town, but God. He was glad he had been found by Lionel Luthor. He wasn't sure he could survive living in Smallville.

"Stop the car right here," Lionel ordered. The driver stopped their car in front of a large, open field.

"Why here?" Clark asked as the two exited the car.

"This was where I found you all those years ago," Lionel replied. "Thought you might like to see."

Clark started walking around the field to take a look around. It wasn't soon before he started returning to the car. "What's the matter? Unimpressed?"

"Just a little," said Clark. "It's nothing but an open field."

Lionel laughed. "Patience, my son. There's more to show you." The two got back into the car and drove a few miles before stopping again. This time, they appeared to be stopping at some sort of excavation site.

"What's this?"

"A LuthorCorp excavation site," said Lionel. These are the Kawatche caves and I believe you'll find them of interest to you."

"Why would I be interested in a bunch of old caves?" Clark asked as he followed Lionel.

"Well, I had originally purchased this property to build on about two years ago," he said. "But some annoying local high school student started screaming foul play. She said that this area should be preserved. I was originally opposed to it, but I eventually came over here to examine the caves and I realized, there may be more to them after all."

The two eventually reached an entrance to the caves and Clark seemed very unimpressed at first, until finally, he started noticing some familiar symbols etched into the cave walls. "Are they…?"

"Kryptonian," said Lionel. "Definitely Kryptonian. They match symbols on your space ship. You see this man sketched right here? Legend says that this is Aman. Kawatche legend says that Naman is a powerful god who will one day be sent down to Earth from the stars. He will become a ruler among men and will eventually go into battle with his most powerful enemy, Sageeth."

"Naman and Sageeth," Clark repeated. "So what, you think _I'm_ Naman?"

"Or Sageeth," said Lionel. "But most likely, you are Naman. A god among men, as I always say."

"I'm destined… to be a ruler?"

"Why of course, Clark. Look at your abilities. Look at what you can do."

Clark slowly nodded, taking all of this in. "I'll leave you here for a moment to take all of this in," said Lionel before he started to leave the caves. Clark then moved closer to the walls and started touching them. It wasn't long before he discovered a small hexagonal opening in the cave wall. "What the…?"

"I see that you have much curiosity, Kal-El." Clark was startled to hear a voice coming from somewhere in the caves.

"Who was that?"

"My name is Jor-El. I was wondering when Lionel Luthor was planning on taking you here. Part of me was starting to worry that he wasn't going to at all."

"What's so important about this place?" Clark asked. "Why are there Kryptonian symbols written on the walls?"

"This is the beginning of your journey, Kal-El," said Jor-El. "Years ago, a Kryptonian visitor came and had great influence on the Kawatche tribe. Hundreds of years later, I came to these very caves from Krypton to set everything into place for you."

"My name isn't Kal-El," said Clark. "It's Clark Luthor. And what do you mean?"

"Your Earth name may be Clark Luthor, but your true Kryptonian name will always be Kal-El, just like I, your father's name is Jor-El. You come from the House of El."

"You're… my father?"

"A mere remnant of your father," said Jor-El. "But in a way, yes, I am. I am here to guide you on your journey here on Earth. You must start by letting go of your Earthly ties. Only then can you truly focus on your journey. These caves hold a secret to your destiny and a key to the next step in your journey."

"What do you mean, 'get rid of my Earthly ties?'"

"I mean let go of the Earthlings around you, of your Earth family, your Earth home, your status here on Earth."

"Are you kidding me?" Clark asked. "Give all of that up to chase after some Kryptonian destiny? Sorry _Dad_, but I write my own destiny." He quickly turned away from the caves and walked out. Jor-El called for him, but he ignored it. As he did so, Clark knew he may very well be back some day, but he wasn't going to waste his time on this for now.

Lionel stood next to their car and grinned as Clark arrived. "How'd you like it?"

"It was… interesting," said Clark. "Maybe I'll come back later, but I think we have more important things to focus on. Maybe we should focus on my present and future rather than on my past." Lionel simply nodded.

"Smart idea, son."

They got inside the car and rode for a while. They were to be taken to a mansion that Lionel purchased years ago, but rarely ever used. Clark had never actually seen it, but apparently Lex had visited on multiple occasions. He seemed eager to get there, but something had eventually blocked their way. They had ridden a few miles when suddenly, a cow appeared in the middle of the road.

"Damn this hick town," said Clark. "I'll get out and take care of it." Before Lionel could say anything, Clark had gotten out of the car and was about to push the cow aside when a boy had started running toward them from off in the distance. "Daisy!" he yelled.

He soon reached them and appeared a little out of breath as he came up and put an hand on the cow. His skin appeared pretty pale and he had very dark eyes that looked over at Clark. "Is this your cow?" Clark asked the boy.

He nodded. "Sorry about that. She got out this morning and we've been looking for her. Fortunately, she just made it a little ways down the road." A pickup truck soon came driving down the road toward them with a trailer latched onto the back. They pulled over on the side of the road and Jonathan and Martha Kent got out of the truck.

"You should keep better tab on your cow," said Clark.

"Is she alright?" Martha asked.

"Yeah, Mom," the boy said. "She's fine. She was just in their way." Lionel stepped out of the car and walked over to them with a grin on his face.

"Why if it isn't Jonathan and Martha Kent! I haven't seen you two in years."

"If you've come to try to purchase our farm again, Lionel, we're going to have to say no," said Jonathan.

"Oh, don't worry about that," he said. "That's in the past. I'm actually here on other business. But funny seeing you here. This is my son, Clark."

"Oh, we know Clark," said Jonathan. "He appears on all those tabloid magazines with his brother."

Clark didn't say anything to this. He merely eyed the other boy. "So this must be your son?" Lionel asked.

"Yes," said Martha.

"I see you had better luck conceiving since I saw you sixteen years ago."

"Actually, we opted for adoption," said Martha. "It was just easier."

"What a coincidence! Clark here is adopted!"

"While this is all good catching up, we really have to get back to our farm," said Jonathan, obviously angry at Lionel. He moved the the cow into his trailer. "Maybe we'll see you in another fifteen years or so, Lionel."

"Maybe even sooner," said Lionel with a grin. "Good day to you." Jonathan was the first to get back into the pickup truck. Their son merely stood there, staring at Clark until Martha pulled him back over to the truck. She took one last look at Lionel before they got in the truck and began to drive away.

"Who was that?" Clark asked.

"You know that farmer and his wife I told you about the other day? Well, that was them. Looks like they got their son after all."

"Huh," said Clark. "I still say they should keep better track of their cow."

* * *

Lana Lang wasn't quite sure how long she had been in the shower. She hadn't been in the best mood today and she knew nothing would help her feel better more than a hot shower after school. She hadn't been doing much cleansing actually. She had been doing more thinking. Thinking about her parents, about Whitney, about college. Sometimes she just wanted to make it all stop and today was definitely one of those days.

She stood frozen as the hot water hit her. She had no logical reason for saying so, but she thought someone was watching her. She had gotten this feeling several times before. She slowly turned the hot water off and was about to step out when she felt a something reach out. Before she knew it, a hand had reached her throat. She started choking immediately. Her arms started flailing and she was grasping for breath. She wanted to cry out for help, but she couldn't speak. She couldn't even breathe. And it was then that she knew she was going to die right there in the shower. She found it fitting after all. First her parents. Then her boyfriend. Then her.

She was about ready to give up when she heard a door slam. Then footsteps. Whoever was behind the shower curtain instantly let go and started to run away. She fell to the bottom of the shower immediately before air hit her lungs. She grasped the side of the tub before finally managing to get up. She heard the bathroom door open and someone walk inside. She feared that it was her attacker and she readied herself to fight, but it was someone else.

"Lana?"

"Nel?"

"Lana, what in the world are you doing in there? I walked in the house and I heard all this commotion coming from the bathroom."

She then proceeded to explain to her aunt what had happened while Nel insisted that they call the police immediately and she go down to the police station.

"No," she protested. "I have a meeting with Lionel Luthor tonight at the high school about a scholarship."

"Your safety is more important, Lana," she said.

"How about this? I'll go to the police station with you right after."

After much arguing, Nel finally agreed. She quickly left the bathroom and started to call the police. Lana slowly moved the shower curtain and started drying herself off before sitting down on the side of the tub. She was starting to take everything in. _Who would want me dead?_

She started to wonder if the attacker was merely a robber. Then she started to attempt to push it all out of her mind as she got up and started to get dressed for her interview. She wasn't going to let this get in the way of her chances at a scholarship.

Meanwhile, Ian Randall was making his way down the road. He could see the Kent farm coming up close. He was cursing himself for not going in for the kill sooner. He would just have to follow Lana to Smallville High now.

* * *

"Do we really have to see Star Wars?" Ian asked Chloe. "I swear… if I have to sit through another one of those movies…"

"Yes, we are seeing Star Wars," she said. "I don't care what you have to say. No matter how much you protest, I'm not budging."

Ian rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll see Star Wars. But next time, I pick the movie."

"Hold up," said Chloe.

"What?"

"Hold up as in stop the car," she said. Ian looked over and saw several police cars pulled over on the side of the road. Naturally, Chloe was interested. Ian pulled over on the side of the road next to the police cars. Chloe got out of the car before Ian could say anything. Ian quickly followed. She started walking into the woods near the police cars. The two could see some lights off in the distance and Chloe quickly made her way over to them. Ian followed, knowing what was coming next. Chloe gasped as she saw the corpse. It had appeared to have been rotting for some time now and was barely recognizable, but she was betting a million dollars that it was Smallville High's missing football coach.

"What are you doing here?" one of the officers asked angrily. "This is official police business. Get out of here!"

One of the officers then proceeded to escort them back to their car. "Any word on who that was?" Chloe asked the officer.

"No, not yet, but that's not for you to worry about. You kids get back in your car and try to enjoy the rest of your night." He watched as Ian and Chloe got back in his car. Ian started to drive away.

"You know what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, I know what you're thinking. This calls for a change of movies."

"No," she said. "I bet your ass that was Coach Arnold back there."

"Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But like that officer said, it's not our concern. Come on. Let's just go on with the rest of our night."

"I'm sorry, Ian, but we can't. I've got to get to the Torch immediately before the paper gets out tomorrow. I've still got one good story left in me."

Ian sighed, but knew there was no fighting this. He just hoped his other half had killed Lana by now. He turned the car around and started driving toward the high school.

It wasn't long before the two had reached the parking lot of Smallville High School. Chloe practically sprinted to the front doors and down the hallway to the Torch office. Ian wasn't nearly as quick. This was probably the least likely place he'd like to be. Chloe was fidgeting with her keys outside the office door when something caught Ian's eye. He looked over his shoulder to see his other half standing across the hall.

_Shit_, he thought. "Chloe, I forgot something in the car. I'll be back in a bit."

Ian was barely audible to Chloe, who was still fidgeting with her keys, her mind still at the scene of the corpse back in the woods. She nodded, barely noticing that Ian had disappeared. She stepped into her office and sat down at her computer.

Ian moved quickly down the hall to his other half. "What are you doing here?"

"Going after Lana. What are you doing here?"

"The cops found Arnold in the woods and Chloe wanted to run to the Torch. I thought Lana would be dead by now."

"Her aunt showed up before I could get the chance."

"Whatever. Now we're going to have to kill Lana without Chloe noticing." One of them nudged his head toward the stairs. They began to walk up the stairs, where they could see Lana waiting outside an office. A man stood over her that appeared to be Lionel Luthor. Another guy stood beside him.

"Why don't you step inside and we'll have a little chat, Miss Lang?" Lana nodded and Lionel turned to Clark. "You can wait outside, Clark." Clark just rolled his eyes. He didn't know why his father had dragged him here. He sat down in the chair that Lana had just been sitting in, but soon got thirsty. He noticed the drinking fountain all the way at the other end of the hallway and sighed. He got up from his chair and super sped to the drinking fountain and got a drink. He then super sped back to the seat. He wasn't sitting there long before he heard footsteps and muttered whispers.

"Who's there?" he asked. He got up from his seat and started heading toward the stairs. There had been no answer. As he approached the stairs, he could hear more footsteps. Whoever it was had started making their way back down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Pete Ross had been walking down the hall a floor below, a note clenched in his hand. He had been spending a lot of time at the high school lately. It was mostly to get away from his fighting parents. He was worried that they would be filing for divorce any time now. He'd gotten keys for the school from working in the athletic office and had been working late there. Sometimes he would see Chloe around school as well. The light on in the Torch office told him she was. He thought about going over to the door and knocking on it, but knew it wouldn't be a good idea. He would instead go to her locker and slip his note inside before leaving. But something stopped him.

There was a rush of footsteps coming from the stairs. Someone was running down them. Pete turned around, but he was too late. Whoever it was had disappeared. In the next moment, Clark Luthor had super sped down the stairs in front of Pete. "It was you."

"What?" Pete asked. He was still startled by the fact that Clark had just appeared in front of him.

"What did you see?" Clark asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Answer me!" Clark yelled. He grabbed ahold of Pete and pinned him up against the lockers.

"What's your problem, man?"

"My problem is you spying on me," said Clark. "And now that you saw what I can do, I can't let you go."

Pete was beginning to get worried. "Come on, man. Just let me go."

Clark didn't let him go. In fact, he threw Pete as hard as he could across the hall and then super sped over to him. He started repeatedly punching him in the face and then threw him hard against the lockers. A large dent had been created before Pete fell to the ground again. He started crying out in pain. Clark then started burning his Kryptonian symbol into the boy's chest when he stopped himself. He knew what the consequences would be if Lionel found out. He started repeatedly bashing the boy into the face until he started to go unconscious.

Both Ians still stood across the hall, looking curiously at the scene in front of them. One of them already had a cell phone out, recording what had been going on. "Come on. Let's get out of here," the other one said. His other half stopped recording and placed his phone in his pocket. They made their way over to the door. Clark super sped away from Pete. By this time, Chloe Sullivan was starting to wonder what was going on.

She slowly got up from her computer and left the Torch office. Someone had been screaming and she wanted to know why. As she made her way down the hall, she started screaming herself. Pete Ross lay in front of her, sprawled on the hallway floor. Blood had been splattered everywhere. As she approached closer, she came to the conclusion that someone had beaten him. The smell of burning flesh hit her nostrils and she almost felt like puking. And amongst this mess had been a note clenched in his hand.

She kneeled down beside him and took it from his hand, reading it to herself.

_Chloe,_

_I don't know how long it's been since I've last talked to you. I met you on the last day of eighth grade and I remember thinking about you all summer before freshman year. To tell you the truth, I haven't stopped thinking about you since. I know it's wrong, but I can't help kicking myself for not letting you know how I feel four years ago. I sit in the background, watching you with him and wishing it were me there with you. A good friend of mine told me that I had to let things be. That I'd have to move on with my life. But I guess I just wanted to let you know how I feel before I do just that. I hope you don't hate me or think I'm a creep for doing this. Even though we never even got to know each other very well, I want you to know that you were my first kiss, my first crush, and my first love._

_- P_

It wasn't long before Chloe started bursting into tears. She had spent these last four years totally ignorant to any feelings Pete Ross had had for her. He had spent all this time thinking about her. He had these feelings for her and she had no idea. She was partially wishing he had told her four years ago. She looked into his eyes and watched the life start to drain away before she started to scream for help. It wasn't long before Lionel Luthor and Lana Lang would come running down the stairs. Several minutes later, Clark Luthor would come from the upstairs bathroom and Ian Randall would return from the outside parking lot. The police would be there shortly after.

While all this was happening, Chloe couldn't take her eyes off Pete's. Even while Ian tried to comfort her, her mind was elsewhere. As paramedics took him away, she took one last look into his lifeless eyes before slumping down next to her locker. She remembered meeting Pete there on the very first day of their freshman year. She remembered specifically him asking her to sit next to him during lunch that day and she had turned him down. She told him she had already started to make new friends and was sitting elsewhere. It was then that she regretted ever saying no. She began to cry even harder.

* * *

**AN: **Thanks for the review, C.S. Tolkien. I was a little iffy about this chapter. I had a clear goal in mind with it and I guess I accomplished it, but I'm still not that happy with it. My intent was to have a chapter focusing on Smallville, but I realized now that there are quite a few plots going on here. It was my original intention with this story, of course, but I'm worried I might have to write out some characters/storylines soon because they're taking away focus from more important storylines. Oh well. I guess we'll just have to see how this goes.


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